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FAAN to Help Protect Children By Distributing Free School Food Allergy Programs

Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 12:00 CST

FAIRFAX, Va., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) today announced the availability of free programs to help school officials safely manage students with food allergies. This effort, entirely funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), allows FAAN to make its School Food Allergy Program available free to more than 10,000 schools in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Already in use by 20,000 schools across the country, FAAN's School Food Allergy Program provides schools with comprehensive information on food allergies and anaphylaxis, along with training materials to help school nurses, food service staff, teachers and administrators safely manage students who might experience a reaction while at school.

"This Federal grant is helping us to further fulfill our mission in educating more school administrators on food allergies and anaphylaxis, and the serious consequences of being unprepared for a food allergy incident," said Anne Munoz-Furlong, FAAN founder and CEO. "We are confident that these training programs will help prevent allergic reactions and save lives."

More than 11 million Americans have food allergies and approximately three million children under the age of 18, or one in 25, are affected. Research shows that food allergies among children are on the rise, and there is no cure. A recent study published in the Journal of School Nursing showed that 94 percent of the nation's schools have students with food allergy. School settings can be potentially dangerous as children with food allergies are often exposed to food allergens not just in school cafeterias, but through classroom celebrations, crafts, and math or science projects.

The School Food Allergy Program includes a training video, an EpiPen(R) trainer, Twinject(TM) trainer, 2 posters, and a binder filled with more than 100 pages of information and standardized forms. The program was developed in collaboration with the National Association of School Nurses, the Anaphylaxis Committee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and the Executive Committee of the Section on Allergy and Immunology of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Letters will be mailed to school principals in the five states, encouraging them to order the program at no cost to the school. Principals, school nurses or administrators can order the program via the FAAN website, http://www.foodallergy.org/. Anyone with questions may call 1-800-929-4040 for more information.

About FAAN

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is a Virginia-based non- profit organization representing the 11 million Americans who have a food allergy. Established in 1991, FAAN's mission is to increase awareness, to provide education and advocacy, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis. For more information, visit the FAAN Web site at http://www.foodallergy.org/, or call (800)929-4040. To reach a board-certified allergist, contact the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology or the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The School Food Allergy Program Fact Sheet The School Food Allergy Program has been endorsed and/or supported by:

The Anaphylaxis Committee of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology

The National Association of School Nurses

The Executive Committee of the Section on Allergy and Immunology of the American Academy of Pediatrics

The comprehensive multimedia program was developed to provide school staff with the tools they need to safely manage children with food allergy. The package includes sections written especially for all of the key players involved including: school principals, school nurses, teachers, food service staff, students, and parents.

This program is widely recognized as the best available resource to help school staff tackle the challenges inherent in caring for children with food allergy. More than 20,000 schools across the country have requested the program and use it to develop comprehensive school-wide food allergy management plans. Designed to identify the areas of major risk, the program provides a clear, straightforward explanation of the scientific basics of food allergy and anaphylaxis, identifies the most common problems, high risk foods and situations, and offers creative solutions and proven strategies, for developing a food allergy management plan.

Perhaps most importantly, the program's goal is to facilitate positive communication among school staff, parents, students and the child's physician.

Presented in its own sturdy binder, the kit contains * More than 140 pages of information including adaptable model school programs, standard forms, lists of tips, tried and true success strategies, checklists, information about federal laws such as Section 504, and IDEA and how they affect children with food allergies, a glossary of terms, peer education materials, and other resources and references. * A 20-minute video entitled Keeping Our Children Safe that can be used to train all school personnel, including administrators, teachers, food service workers, bus drivers, and others about: * Food Induced Anaphylaxis, Symptoms, and Causes * Preventive Measures * Emergency Treatments * A Food Allergy Action Plan to be copied and filled out for each student who has a food allergy. The form provides school staff with clear, written instructions from the child's physician and parent about how to treat the student's allergic reactions, and includes emergency contact information. * FAAN's Be A PAL Program that teaches classmates how to Protect A Life from food allergy. Includes a PAL brochure and PAL Hero Award Certificate to recognize non-food allergic students who help protect their food-allergic classmates. * A four-color poster titled, "How to help a friend who has food allergies" featuring U.S. Olympian and NHL Star Tom Poti. * A four-color Food Allergy Awareness poster to be posted in the nurse's office, cafeteria, or classroom. * How to DVDs and reusable training devices for administering epinephrine using the EpiPen(R) and Twinject(TM) auto-injectors.

Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

CONTACT: Zuraidah Hoffman of FAAN Media Relations, +1-703-606-0324, orZuraidah.hoffman@verizon.net

Web site: http://www.foodallergy.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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